1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which is available for filing and printing a variety of data including facial photographic data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional photography using a silver chloride solution and also instant photography have been used to provide a, facial photograph of an individual printed on a printing paper. The photograph is conventionally fixed to a card or other such means with identification of the individual can be made. However, when facial photographic data is merely printed on the printing paper, data is solely available from the printed photograph. As a result, it has long been quite difficult for any conventional art to file the facial photographic data on a non-visual medium, to correct the data, or to precisely reproduce the facial photographic data. In consequence, actual utility of the facial photographic data has been confined to an extremely narrow range of uses. In order to make use of the facial photographic data printed on a printed paper for the purpose of identifying an individual, the facial photograph must be bonded to an identification card with an adhesive agent. As a result, the bonded photograph may accidentally be stripped off from the card.
To solve the problems mentioned above, a variety of approaches have been developed. For instance, one approach converts the facial photographic data into electric signals and then prints out the facial photographic data as required. Typically, image data contains an amount of data which is greater than needed for characters and numerals. Therefore, there are a number of drawbacks connected with processing the facial photographic data in the form of electric signals to form a part of the identification data used to identify an individual. However, as a result of significant development of image processing apparatuses in recent years, such drawbacks have been reduced.
In the ID card production apparatus disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 63-316275 of 1987, for example, the technique of optionally printing out the facial photographic data in the form of electric signal is disclosed. The ID card production apparatus disclosed by the above Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 63-316275 of 1987 executes those processes described below.
Image signals of the target body, such as the individual person of interest, which are picked up by a color TV camera are converted into multi-gradational digital signals by an analogue-to-digital converter. The digital signals are stored in a frame memory. Next, an image signal processing circuit composed of a lookup table memory and an adder executes arithmetic operations needed for removing dullness from chrominance components caused by improper spectral absorbing factors of chromatic material available for full-color video printers. Using an operating unit composed of a keyboard unit and a memory unit, the ID card production apparatus cited above electrically generates a graphic image and a character-image, which are then synthesized and edited in combination with image signals of the target body by the video signal generator composed of the lookup table memory and a video RAM. In this way, an image is made available for producing an ID card, and then the complete image is printed out of the full-color video printer.
Conventionally, there is a known data base system which files such facial photographic data in order to retain the facial photographic data of individual members associated with a variety of business enterprises or schools. As is typically designated under the title of "examples of system composition" appearing in the catalogue published by Fuji Film Co., Ltd., of Japan, the data base system cited above is well known. This data base system introduces video signals from a video camera via an image processor, then the video signals are displayed on a TV monitor, and, simultaneously, the data base system writes the image data in the data file unit. The stored image data can optionally be printed out by applying a video printer.
Both of the approaches cited above produces facial photographic data in the form of a full-color image, and enables the filing or printing thereof. To achieve this, both of these systems needs to operate a video printer capable of printing a full-color image, and yet, needs to use specific high-quality printing papers.
In some case, printable identification data mainly contains character data with a negligible amount of facial photographic data. In this case, it is desired that character data be printed by applying a conventional monochromatic printer capable of recording signals according to ON-OFF bilevel recording dots. To implement the printing operation, facial photographic data must be filed in the form of binary-coded image data for the reason described below. Normally, any facial photographic data filed in the form of one signal format cannot be printed out with such a printer which prints facial photographic data only in the form of another signal format.
As mentioned above, considering the need for optionally printing out the facial photographic data, any conventional system using facial photographic data stored in the data base must file individual facial photographic data in accordance with the image signal format corresponding to the printer which is used. More particularly, when printing out the designated facial photographic data using a multi-gradational video printer, the facial photographic data signals must be filed in the form of a multi-gradational image signal. On the other hand, when printing out the designated facial photographic data using either a monochromatic binary serial dot printer or a page printer, the conventional system needs to preliminary file the designated facial photographic data in the form of bilevel image data complete with pseudo multi-gray scale modification. These requirements limit the effective use of facial photographic data. Furthermore, since any conventional system needs to always file such facial photographic data in the form of a variety of image signals, any of those conventional systems must include a large-capacity external memory device. This, in turn, results in a complex structure and enlarged structural dimensions.